Land Off Tey Road Coggeshall Essex

Land off Tey Road Coggeshall Essex

Archaeological Watching Brief

for MW Land Developments Ltd

CA Project: 660973 CA Report: 17728 Essex Site Code: CGTR17

December 2017

Land off Tey Road Coggeshall Essex

Archaeological Watching Brief

CA Project: 660973 CA Report: 17728 Essex Site Code: CGTR17

Document Control Grid Revision Date Author Checked by Status Reasons for Approved revision by A 12 Michael Richard Draft Laurie December Joyce Young Coleman 17 B 12 Michael Richard Final Client Comment Laurie December Joyce Young Coleman 17

This report is confidential to the client. Cotswold Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability to any third party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without permission.

CONTENTS

SUMMARY ...... 2

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 3

2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ...... 4

3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ...... 5

4. METHODOLOGY ...... 5

5. RESULTS (FIGS 2-3) ...... 6

6. THE FINDS ...... 6

7. DISCUSSION ...... 7

8. CA PROJECT TEAM ...... 7

10. REFERENCES ...... 8

APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS ...... 9

APPENDIX B: THE FINDS ...... 10

APPENDIX C: OASIS REPORT FORM ...... 11

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 1 Site location plan (1:25,000) Fig. 2 The site, showing location of groundworks (1:500) Fig. 3 Trench 11: sections and photographs (1:20)

1 © Cotswold Archaeology Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex: Archaeological Watching Brief

SUMMARY

Project Name: Land off Tey Road Location: Coggeshall, Essex NGR: 585753 223384 Type: Watching Brief Date: 30 November – 1 December 2017 Planning Reference: 15/013725/FUL Location of Archive: To be deposited with Braintree and Ipswich Museum service Essex Site Code: CGTR17 Site Code: TEY17

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology during groundworks associated with the erection of 11 dwellings, estate roads, footpaths, garages, car spaces, foul and surface drainage and landscaping at land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex.

Two ditches and a gully, containing artefacts dating to the post-medieval and modern periods, were observed during ground works. These were identified during a previous evaluation on the site and are probably the remains of a former agricultural field system.

2 © Cotswold Archaeology Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex: Archaeological Watching Brief

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 In November and December 2017 Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological watching brief for MW Land Developments Ltd at land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex (centred at NGR: 585753 223384; Fig. 1). The watching brief was undertaken to satisfy a condition (no. 16) attached to planning consent (15/013725/FUL) granted by Braintree District Council (BDC) for residential development comprising the erection of eleven dwellings, estate roads, footpaths, garages, car spaces, foul and surface drainage and landscaping. The condition was attached to the consent in keeping with paragraph 141 of the National Planning Policy Framework (DCLG 2012) and on the recommendation of Richard Havis, Principal Historic Environment Consultant, Essex County Council (ECC). The condition required that:

"No development or groundworks of any kind shall take place until the applicant has secured the implementation of a programme of archaeological investigation in accordance with a written scheme of investigation which has been submitted by the applicant, and approved by the planning authority."

1.2 The watching brief was carried out in accordance with a detailed Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) produced by CA (2017a) and approved by Teresa O’Connor, Historic Environment Consultant, ECC. The fieldwork also followed Standard and guidance: Archaeological watching brief (CIfA 2014).

The site 1.3 The site is approximately 1.38ha, and comprises undeveloped land formerly part of a larger field which was divided at the time of the construction of the A120 Coggeshall Bypass. The site is bounded to the north and east by Coggeshall Road (the A120), to the south by Tey Road and to the east by the Monkdowns Road housing estate. The centre of the site lies at approximately 46m above Ordnance Datum (AOD) with the ground level within the site dropping away downwards from the north-west to the south-east.

1.4 The underlying bedrock geology of the area is mapped as London Clay Formation comprising Clay, Silt and Sand of the Palaeogene Period. It is overlain by superficial deposits of Lowestoft Formation of the Quaternary Period (BGS 2017). The natural

3 © Cotswold Archaeology Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex: Archaeological Watching Brief

substrate revealed on site during the watching brief was a silty clay with areas of chalk inclusions.

2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 The site was evaluated archaeologically by Cotswold Archaeology in September 2017 (CA 2017b) and the archaeological and historical background of site was summarised in a brief for the evaluation produced by Richard Havis, ECC (Havis 2017). The following section is summarised from this source with reference to the Essex Historic Environment Record (HER) (EHER 2017) and a historic town assessment of Coggeshall (Medlycott 1999). The proposed development lies along a historic route linking the historic town of Coggeshall to Great Tey; which lies approximately 6.4km to the north-east

2.2 There is no recorded evidence for prehistoric activity within the site. The area around Coggeshall has evidence for prehistoric occupation with residual prehistoric pottery and Neolithic waste flakes having been recovered.

2.3 The former Roman road, known as Stane Street, which ran east to west between Braughing at the west and Colchester at the east, ran through Coggeshall, to the south of the site. On the eastern edge of Coggeshall excavations have revealed the edge of a sizeable Roman farm or villa complex, containing at least one masonry structure and one timber structure set within a grid of paddocks, fields and a droveway. The site lies within 500m of the Roman settlement.

2.6 There is some evidence for early Saxon activity at Coggeshall comprising pottery sherds recovered opposite the church. It is thought that the late Saxon and early medieval settlement was focused near the church, on the higher, drier ground above the valley floor.

2.7 Coggeshall is mentioned in the Domesday Book recording a reasonably large, settled community with a church and possibly two mills. It is also records a priest in Coggeshall in 1089 and in 1140 Queen Matilda founded the Savigny order at Little Coggeshall and an Abbey was constructed at that time. St Nicholas Chapel was built by the Abbey gatehouse in 1240. The Church of St Peter Ad Vincula which lies to

4 © Cotswold Archaeology Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex: Archaeological Watching Brief

the south west of the site had its origins in the early 14th century and the main part of the church was built on its present site between 1324 and 1326.

2.8 Later in the medieval period the settlement focused on the lower areas west of the church around Market Hill, which is the current centre of the town. In the later medieval period and early post-medieval periods Coggershall became an important and wealthy centre of the cloth industry, the number of surviving buildings from this period reflecting this.

2.9 Ten trenches were excavated during the archaeological evaluation of the site undertaken by CA in September 2017 (CA 2017b). The evaluation identified the remains of a probable former agricultural field system. Although the features remained largely undated during the evaluation they were felt to date to the late medieval/post-medieval period. A large extraction pit of the same period was also revealed. This was probably associated with historical activity of this type to the west of the site identified on historic mapping.

3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

3.1 The objectives of the archaeological works were:

• to monitor groundworks, and to identify, investigate and record all significant buried archaeological deposits revealed on the site during the course of the development groundworks;

• at the conclusion of the project, to produce an integrated archive for the project work and a report setting out the results of the project and the archaeological conclusions that can be drawn from the recorded data.

4. METHODOLOGY

4.1 The fieldwork followed the methodology set out within the WSI (CA 2017). An archaeologist was present during the first phase of intrusive groundworks, comprising groundworks along the access road and within Plot 2 (Trenches 11 to 15; T11 to T15 on Fig. 2). At this point the watching brief was halted with the agreement of Teresa O’Connor, ECC.

5 © Cotswold Archaeology Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex: Archaeological Watching Brief

4.2 Where archaeological deposits were encountered written, graphic and photographic records were compiled in accordance with CA Technical Manual 1: Fieldwork Recording Manual.

4.3 The archive and artefacts from the watching brief are currently held by CA at their offices in Kemble. Subject to the agreement of the legal landowner the artefacts will be deposited with Braintree and Ipswich Museum Service under accession number CGTR17, along with the site archive. A summary of information from this project, set out within Appendix C, will be entered onto the OASIS online database of archaeological projects in Britain.

5. RESULTS (FIGS 2-3)

5.1 The natural geological substrate, consisting of chalk flecked, light orange brown clay with occasional sand, was revealed across the excavated areas at an average depth of 0.58m below present ground level.

5.2 A number of linear features were identified within the area of groundworks. A north- west/south-east orientated ditch was observed running through all five of the areas observed. This feature has previously been recorded as ditch 607 in trench 6 and ditch 703 in trench 7 of the evaluation (see Fig. 2). The single fill 1107 of the ditch in Trench 11 contained porcelain of post-medieval or modern date.

5.3 A north-east/south-west orientated gully, recorded during the evaluation as gully 1003 within Trench 10, was exposed in the southern area of Trench 11. It contained two fills, 1104 and 1105. The upper fill 1104 contained 18th or 19th-century pottery and the feature was interpreted as a drainage gully. Finally, a north-east/south-west oriented ditch, exposed and excavated as ditch 705 during the evaluation, was recorded during the watching brief as ditch 1108. Its single fill 1109 contained post- medieval/modern pottery.

6. THE FINDS

6.1 Artefactual material was hand-recovered from three deposits (ditch and gully fills). The recovered material dates to the Roman and post-medieval/modern periods.

6 © Cotswold Archaeology Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex: Archaeological Watching Brief

Quantities of the artefact types are given in Appendix B. The pottery has been recorded according to sherd count/weight per fabric. Pottery fabric codes have been devised for the purpose of this report.

Pottery: Post-medieval/modern 6.2 A total of five sherds (22g) of pottery from this date range was recovered, mostly in an unabraded condition. Dating to the 18th century is an unfeatured bodysherd of white salt-glazed stoneware (WSG) from fill 1107 of ditch 1106. Of 18th to 19th- century date are black-glazed earthenware (BGE), unglazed red earthenware with black surfaces (UGE) and transfer-printed refined whiteware (TPW).

Ceramic building material 6.3 An abraded fragment (173g) of Roman imbrex (roofing tile) was retrieved as a residual find in fill 1109 of ditch 1108. Fill 1107 of ditch 1106 produced nine fragments (169g) of post-medieval ceramic building material, most of which were identifiable as deriving from flat roof tile.

Other finds 6.4 A fragment of cement mortar, with a trace of brick adhering, was recorded from ditch fill 1109. The use of cement mortar began in the mid 19th century (P. Davenport, pers. comm.).

7. DISCUSSION

7.1 The watching brief identified archaeological features in all five of the excavated areas. These comprised a series of ditches and a gully that were observed in the preceding evaluation. These features contained post-medieval/modern pottery and ceramic building material, and have been interpreted as the remains of a former agricultural field system.

8. CA PROJECT TEAM

Fieldwork was undertaken by Alison Roberts. The report was written by Michael Joyce. The finds report was written by Jacky Sommerville. The illustrations were prepared by Rosanna Price. The archive has been compiled by Michael Joyce, and

7 © Cotswold Archaeology Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex: Archaeological Watching Brief

prepared for deposition by Hazel O’Neill. The project was managed for CA by Richard Young.

10. REFERENCES

BGS (British Geological Survey) 2017 Geology of Britain Viewer http://mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/geologyofbritain/home.html Accessed 22 August 2017

CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2017a Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex: Written Scheme of Investigation for an Archaeological Watching Brief

CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2017b Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall Essex: Archaeological Watching Brief CA typescript report 17728

CIFA (Chartered Institute for Field Archaeologists) 2014 Standards and guidance for archaeological field evaluation

DCLG (Department of Communities and Local Government) 2012 National Planning Policy Framework

EHER (Essex Historic Environment Record) 2017 Coggeshall http://unlockingessex.essexcc.gov.uk/uep/content_page.asp?content_page_id=113 &content_parents=48,94 Accessed 22 August 2017

Havis, R. 2017 Brief for trial trenching evaluation on Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall

NLS (National Library of Scotland) http://maps.nls.uk/ Accessed 22 August 2017

Medlycott, M. 1999. Historic towns in Essex: Coggeshall historic towns assessment report, English Heritage

8 © Cotswold Archaeology Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex: Archaeological Watching Brief

APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS

Trench Context Type Fill of Context Description L W Depth/thi Spot- No. No. interpretation (m) (m) ckness date (m) 11 1100 Layer Topsoil Dark grey brown silt clay 0.3m 11 1101 Layer Subsoil Mid grey brown silt clay 0.29m 11 1102 Layer Natural Light orange brown clay, freq chalk - 11 1103 Cut Cut of linear NE-SW linear, post med- modern 6m 0.3 0.33m

11 1104 Fill 1103 Fill of linear Backfill within drainage gully 6m+ 0.3 0.08m

11 1105 Fill 1103 Fill of linear Secondary deposit in drainage gully 6m+ 0.3 0.25m C18-C19

11 1106 Cut Cut of linear NW-SE linear 6m+ 0.95 0.31m

11 1107 Fill 1106 Fill of linear Mid yellow brown silt clay 6m+ 0.95 0.31m LC18-C19

11 1108 Cut Cut of linear E-W post med linear 6m+ 1.13 0.13m

11 1109 Fill 1108 Fill of linear Mid yellow brown silt clay fill 6m+ 1.13 0.13m Modern

12 1200 Layer Topsoil Dark grey brown silt clay 0.3m 12 1201 Layer Subsoil Mid grey brown silt clay 0.25m 12 1202 Layer Natural Light orange brown clay, freq chalk - 12 1203 Cut Cut of linear NW-SE linear, post med-modern 6m+ 0.95 NFE

12 1204 Fill 1203 Fill of linear Mid yellow brown silt clay 6m+ 0.95 NFE

13 1300 Layer Topsoil Dark grey brown silt clay 0.32m 13 1301 Layer Subsoil Mid grey brown silt clay 0.3m 13 1302 Layer Natural Light orange brown clay, freq chalk - 13 1303 Cut Cut of linear NW-SE linear, post med-modern 6m+ 0.95 NFE

13 1304 Fill 1303 Fill of linear Mid yellow brown silt clay 6m+ 0.95 NFE

14 1400 Layer Topsoil Dark grey brown silt clay 0.3m 14 1401 Layer Subsoil Mid grey brown silt clay 0.27m 14 1402 Layer Natural Light orange brown clay, freq chalk - 14 1403 Cut Cut of linear NW-SE linear, post med-modern 6m+ 0.95 NFE

14 1404 Fill 1403 Fill of linear Mid yellow brown silt clay 6m+ 0.95 NFE

15 1500 Layer Topsoil Dark grey brown silt clay 0.32m 15 1501 Layer Subsoil Mid grey brown silt clay 0.29m 15 1502 Layer Natural Light orange brown clay, freq chalk - 15 1503 Cut Cut of linear NW-SE linear, post med-modern 6m+ 0.95 NFE

15 1504 Fill 1503 Fill of linear Mid yellow brown silt clay 6m+ 0.95 NFE

9 © Cotswold Archaeology Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex: Archaeological Watching Brief

APPENDIX B: THE FINDS

Context Category Description Fabric Count Weight Spot-date Code (g) 1105 Post-medieval/modern Black-glazed earthenware BGE 2 6 C18-C19 pottery 1107 Post-medieval pottery White salt-glazed stoneware WSG 1 10 LC18-C19 Post-medieval/modern Transfer-printed refined TPW 1 3 pottery whiteware Post-medieval ceramic Flat roof tile, fragments 9 169 building material 1109 Post-medieval/modern Unglazed earthenware UGE 1 3 Modern pottery Roman ceramic building Imbrex 1 173 material Cement mortar 1 22

APPENDIX C: OASIS REPORT FORM

PROJECT DETAILS

Project Name Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex Short description An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology during groundworks associated with the erection of 11 dwellings, estate roads, footpaths, garages, car spaces, foul and surface drainage and landscaping at land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex. Two ditches and a gully, containing artefacts dating to the post- medieval and modern periods, were observed during ground works. These were identified during a previous evaluation on the site and are probably the remains of a former agricultural field system. Project dates 30 November - 1 December 2017 Project type Watching Brief

Previous work Field evaluation (CA 2017)

Future work Unknown PROJECT LOCATION Site Location Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex Study area (M2/ha) 1.38ha Site co-ordinates 585753 223384

PROJECT CREATORS Name of organisation Cotswold Archaeology Project Brief originator Essex County Council Project Design (WSI) originator Cotswold Archaeology

Project Manager Richard Young Project Supervisor Alison Roberts MONUMENT TYPE None SIGNIFICANT FINDS None PROJECT ARCHIVES Intended final location of archive Content

Physical Braintree & Ipswich Museum Service Pottery, Ceramic (CGTR17) Building Material Paper Braintree & Ipswich Museum Service Trench sheets, context (CGTR17) sheets, permatrace plans Digital Braintree & Ipswich Museum Service Digital photographs, (CGTR17) GPS survey BIBLIOGRAPHY

CA (Cotswold Archaeology) 2017 Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall Essex: Archaeological Watching Brief CA typescript report 17728

11 5 584000 5 585000 5 586000 5 587000 5 588000 8 8 8 8 8

222600026000 4 5 6 7 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

222500025000

222400024000

222300023000

222200022000

222100021000

N Andover 01264 347630 CAMBRIDGESHIRE Cirencester 01285 771022 SUFFOLK Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]

PROJECT TITLE Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex LUTON

HIRE ESSEX FIGURE TITLE HERTFORDS Site location plan

THURROCK 0 1km H FIGURE NO. Reproduced from the digital Ordnance Survey Explorer map with DRAWN BY AO PROJECT NO. 660973 LONDON SOUTHEND-ON-SEA the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller CHECKED BY DJB DATE 07.12.17 of Her Majesty's Stationery Office c Crown copyright Cotswold Archaeology Ltd 100002109 APPROVED BY REY SCALE@A4 1:25,000 1 585700 585750 585800

gully 103

A 1 T1 2 0

T2 MONKDOWNS

ROAD

B B

A A

A D R O TEY T3

gully gully A120 N pit 223400 303 409 403 T4

ditch pit 405 407

gully 503

pit site boundary 507 T5 evaluation trench area of watching brief cut feature

ditch excavated intervention 505 ditch T15 field drain 1503 ditch ditch B B section location 605 T6 603

ditch 607 223350 ditch 1403 T14 ditch 1303 T8 T13 ditch 703 T9

T12 ditch 1203 C ditch 0 20m ditch C 1108 705 Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey digital mapping with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office &URZQFRS\ULJKW&RWVZROG$UFKDHRORJ\/WG T7 T11 Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Exeter 01392 826185 Milton Keynes 01908 564660 T10 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk B e [email protected] B gully PROJECT TITLE ditch Land off Tey Road, Coggeshall, Essex 1005 1003 ditch 1106 FIGURE TITLE A Tey Road The site, showing location of A ground works 223300

DRAWN BY RP PROJECT NO. 660973 FIGURE NO. CHECKED BY DJB DATE 07.12.17 APPROVED BY REY SCALE@A3 1:500 2 C:\Users\rosanna.price\Desktop\Projects\660973 Tey\660973 Tey Road EVAL Fig 02.dwg Section AA

NW SE 45.8m AOD 1105

1104 gully 1103

GGullyully 11103,103, llookingooking nnorth-eastorth-east ((0.2m0.2m sscale)cale)

Section BB

NE SW 45.7m AOD 1107 ditch 1106

DDitchitch 1106,1106, lookinglooking ssouth-westouth-west ((0.5m0.5m scale)scale)

Section CC

NW SE 1:20 46.2m 01m AOD 1100 Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Exeter 01392 826185 Archaeology Milton Keynes 01908 564660 1101 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e [email protected]

PROJECT TITLE 1109 Land off Tey Road, Coggleshall, Essex ditch 1108

FIGURE TITLE Trench 11: sections and photographs

DRAWN BY RP PROJECT NO. 660973 FIGURE NO. DDitchitch 1108,1108, lookinglooking ssouth-westouth-west ((1m1m sscale)cale) CHECKED BY DJB DATE 07.12.17 APPROVED BY REY SCALE@A3 1:20 3